The Sands of Time
by Brigid FitzFae
Summary: Hermione used to be an Unspeakable. She is now finding that when you play with time things are not always what they seemed to be. Rating T for future situations. Originally written under an old pen name check bio for reasons for the new name.
1. Ch 1- An Unexpected Journey

Disclaimer: I own none of this. The original fanfic was posted under the pen name Emilee Genna Svahy however my email for that account no longer is active and I can no longer update the fanfic. Thus I am reposting and will be updating with some regularity as the story is mostly written thanks to NaNoWriMo

 _ **The Sands of Time**_

 _ **Chapter One**_

 _ **An Unexpected Journey**_

If you were to ask Hermione Granger what was going through her mind the first time she used her modified Time Turner she wouldn't tell you. More like she couldn't tell you. It was exciting, if anything, to be the first one to use a "long distance" Time Turner even more exciting was the fact that she had made it herself.

Hermione felt a familiar tug as if she were being pulled gently in every which way as the world spun around her. "Out of the way! Who do ya think ya are? Merlin's beard…" a hunched over witch grumbled as she angrily shuffled past Hermione, the smell emanating from the woman could have caused paint to peel off of a wall. Covering her nose was all Hermione could do to keep from seeing her breakfast again.

The walls of the alley dripped with some dampness and Hermione hesitated to get near the wall at all. The entire alley was foreboding. Clearly Hermione was more than just a little out of place. Suddenly two arms pulled her up to her full height and began to drag her through the alley and towards another brighter street.

"Knockturn Alley. Really, Melody, sometimes I think you just hope you land yourself in a dangerous situation to see if I will be there. Well guess what, as per usual I'm here... saving your arse."

Who was this man? He came out of nowhere and seemed to know her, but clearly he couldn't know her if he kept calling her Melody. They were now in the middle of the much brighter Daigon Alley and Hermione shut her eyes so tightly she saw stars. The man stopped pulling her along and let her rest. She slowly opened her eyes and what she saw looking back at her confused her beyond what words could convey. Eyes that she thought she would never see again. Two dark eyes belonging to a man who had disappeared from the Wizarding world nearly four years ago. But this was the past and she was now staring into eyes much younger than the ones she remembered.

"Professor Snape?" Hermione breathed in confusion.

He took a step back. "You… you don't… you haven't… this is?" he fumbled for the right words to say. Finally resigning himself to routine he looked at her in the eye and said, "It's April 3rd 1982, you're in Daigon Alley now… though for whatever reason you landed in Knockturn Alley, and it's," he looked at his watch, "9:27 in the morning."

"And I'm Melody-"

"Sands, yes I know. I've known you since I was eleven, though it would appear that you haven't met me like this before." This young Snape was a little less rough around the edges. Hermione was shocked that not an ounce of sarcasm dripped from any of his words; she did, however, notice that there was a look of disappointment that crossed his face when he looked at her.

"I'm in 1982? It worked? It worked. This is brilliant…" Hermione enthusiastically rattled on.

"Clearly your first time. I knew this would happen. I didn't exactly count on it being today," Snape mumbled as he began to walk through the street.

Not knowing what else to do Hermione followed him. The street was not very crowded as it was still rather early in the morning. Shops were only beginning to open. It was all so odd to Hermione that she was walking through the streets of Daigon Alley in 1982 with a very young Severus Snape who knew her but didn't truly know her. What was going on? Was it possible that her Time Turner could bring her back farther than the twenty years that it did? Obviously it had to as Snape already knew her. Hermione didn't know what to say for the first time in her life she was truly speechless.

All she could do was to allow Snape to lead her through the street and he did just that. They walked right up to a familiar brick wall. Snape tapped the wall a few times with his wand and the bricks moved away to allow the two onto the muggle side of the wall. Snape led them into the Leaky Cauldron and they sat down at a small table in a shadowed corner of the establishment.

Neither of them spoke until Tom came over and took their orders. They looked at each other for quite some time before either of them spoke again. Snape gazed serenely at Hermione who stared at him quizzically.

"Questions, Melody?" Snape finally asked breaking the silence.

"What? Well, yes of course I have questions. What has happened in your history? What's happened in the past year? Are you working at Hogwarts? Are you working at all? Is Vold- erm He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named in power? What's going on in the Wizarding world?" Hermione asked. Her questions were endless but all she could think of was to ascertain everything about Severus Snape on that day in history as she could.

Snape looked at her with a single raised eyebrow.

"Last month I was hired as the Potions Master for the upcoming term at Hogwarts. It would appear that Slughorn does not wish to continue teaching. The Dark Lord is not in power nor is he rising to power anymore. He was defeated by a baby."

"Harry," Hermione interrupted.

"Yes, Lily's son," Snape confirmed.

"I'm so sorry, Professor Snape. I cannot begin to imagine how you must feel," Hermione offered.

"It's Severus, Melody. Call me Severus. You have been since I was eleven and it's just odd that you aren't right now."

"Severus then… okay." His name felt odd on her lips. It was not at all what she had anticipated. A kind Severus Snape wasn't that an oxymoron?

"Oddly I'm doing well. Losing Lily was not as difficult as I would have imagined it would be. I'm not saying that I didn't fall apart when I went… when I heard the news. Her death was one of the hardest things I have ever had to deal with," Severus confessed while studying his cup of tea with an intensity that only Severus Snape could possess.

Hermione reached across the table and gently touched his hand with hers. He didn't shy as she had anticipated he would, instead he simply left his hand where it was and she was the first to break the contact.

"So Harry defeated You-Know-Who," Hermione stated.

Severus looked at her.

"This is the youngest I have ever seen you look. Anyway the Wizarding world, well, not much has gone on since The Dark Lord fell. Rebuilding mostly, though from what I have been told they're not going to be rebuilding Lily's house. It's supposed to be some sort of a memorial. I don't know what the Ministry is thinking," Severus explained.

"And what about you? What has happened to you? I mean other than the fantastic Hogwarts news."

"My trial?" Severus asked. Hermione nodded in reply. "Ah well, it went, well enough. Dumbledore helped with that, but that's a discussion for another day, Melody. Now, there are things I am supposed to tell you."

"Really?"

A smile tugged at the corner of Severus's lips and he nodded slightly, "Of course there are, would you put it past yourself to leave me with instructions for this day?"

"Good point," Hermione smiled. Perhaps he did know her better than she thought.

Severus raised an eyebrow then reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small envelope and handed it to her. She looked at it for a while studying the handwriting. "For Melody Sands" it read. She flipped it over and looked at the small seal on it. A simple "H" was in the wax and she knew it had to be hers. Hermione looked at Severus who yet again raised a single eyebrow and she broke the seal.

 _January 9, 2003_

 _Hermione,_

 _Well, surprise, there are things you don't know. Congratulations you're human._

 _For the record I have been waiting to say that for quite some time._

 _By this time you must have realized that your calculations for the modified Time Turner were not as accurate as you believed them to be. That being said there are a few things you do need to know. To everyone you encounter you are to introduce yourself not as Hermione Granger but as Melody Sands. If you reveal who you are there is a possibility that you may taint to natural progression of time._

 _Your Time Turner will not bring you to the exact date you want it to. It will however bring you very close, I'm sorry I don't have a more specific margin of error the gap varies each time you travel. You will not be able to get back to your time on will. There will be times you want to stay for days and you will only be there for mere minutes and then there will be times where only a few minutes will suffice but you will be stuck where you are for hours perhaps even a day or two. The Time Turner for whatever reason will determine how long you are stuck in the past. A solution is being worked on but I cannot guarantee that one will be found._

 _Now, the most important thing you must remember is that there are specific events in the order of time that cannot be changed. You cannot go back and save Dumbledore, or Tonks, or Cedric, or Lavender, or James and Lily, or even Ron. Just understand that if those events are changed you rewrite time and time cannot be rewritten without repercussions. If you rewrite time it is difficult to say what will happen but I can only assume that nothing good will come of it._

 _However, there are minor details that can be changed that will not interfere with what you may believe to be the proper order of time. There are fixed events and there are events that are in a constant flux with time. Things that can be changed and should be changed will present themselves to you it is up to you to see that these preconceived established events are changed. You are an active participant in whatever time and place you find yourself in. Do not always hesitate to participate. Chances are you are the one that is incorrect in her presumptions on the validity of events._

 _Finally you are only going to be going back to events and moments where Severus needs you the most. I know this doesn't make sense to you now but it is simply how your Time Turner was designed, and for him it is his reality and you are a valuable part of that reality._

 _Just remember what you have read in this letter. I know you will._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Hermione J. Granger  
_  
Hermione looked up from the letter and stared at Severus for a few long moments. The letter didn't mention anything about saving him. Did that mean that he wouldn't need to be saved? But in the future he died. None of this made any sense. Hermione looked at Severus for some sort of an answer but he revealed nothing. Why would he? What was she expecting from him? An answer that she would never receive?

Severus looked at Hermione who seemed more than just a little confused.

"Any more questions, Melody?"

Hermione shook her head and began to sip her tea. What questions do you ask a man who cannot know what is in his future?

"How did you know where to find me?" Hermione finally asked.

"The first time I ever met you, you gave me a book containing a list of all the times you visit me. It was a birthday present. I know exactly when you will come and visit and when I must wait to see you again. It's useful and meticulously created. Though I wouldn't expect any less than that from you," Severus informed Hermione. He then reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small black leather bound book with a lion and a serpent imprinted upon the cover in gold leaf. The book looked very worn and old, which was odd because Hermione recalled that very journal on her bookcase being new and unused.

Hermione reached for the book but Severus quickly pulled it out of her reach, "Spoilers, Melody. That's one of your rules. I cannot let you see the contents of the book. You haven't written it yet."

"I see. Well, Severus, does that list say how long I stay?" Hermione asked as she leaned back into her chair and raised an eyebrow.

Severus took another sip of his own tea before deciding to respond. "Sometimes."

"And today? Did I say how long I stay today?" Hermione asked her eyebrow raised in a very Snape-like manner.

"No."

Hermione studied him again for a good while. He looked disappointed. At her? perhaps. Who knows? Severus knew. But would he tell her? Probably not. It was Severus Snape after all. If there was one man who was capable of secrecy Hermione knew it was Severus. Yet that look of total disappointment that crossed his face was a look that Hermione knew she would not be able to get out of her mind.

"I'm not who you were expecting. Was I?" Hermione asked Severus who looked at her slightly astounded by the question.

"To be honest, no, you're not." Severus leaned back with his cup of tea cradled in his hands. He didn't want to look at her and she didn't blame him.

"I'm sorry."

"It isn't your fault, Melody," Severus said looking back to Hermione. "This day was going to happen no matter what. Today is just as good a day as any for it to happen."

He went back to looking at his tea and studied it intently for a while.

"Severus may I ask you just one more thing?" Hermione asked him cautiously.

"Of course," Severus said into his tea.

She reached across the table and put and hand on the one that he had on the table.

"Were we… are we… are we something more to each other? More than friends I mean." She searched Severus's face for an answer that she didn't expect she would ever hear.

"Spoilers, Melody." Severus said. A wry smile pulling at the corners of his lips.

Hermione would have smiled but panic began to quickly move in as she felt the room begin to spin and her presence in 1982 begin to fade. She felt the tugging every which way and then landed right where she left, sitting in a chair in her study alone.

There was no one to share her triumph with no one to care. She was completely alone and she knew what she would have to do.

She walked over to her bookcase and took the black leather bound journal from its spot beside her Arithmancy journals and began to write.

 _March 14th, 2002_

 _I met someone today. Someone that I have known since I was eleven but it's funny today I got to see him in a light I would have never imagined before. Today he was kind and young. It was like I was meeting him for the first time again. It's like I was meeting Severus Snape while wearing rose colored glasses and when I took off the glasses he hadn't changed._

 _Something very strange happened in regards to my freelance work. My work with my Time Turner brought me back to April 3rd 1982. All I anticipated was to go back to 1992. Extraordinary really. I had never guessed that a trip to the past would ever bring me to a realization like the one I had today. This is the kind of thing I would have had to report when I was working at the Ministry. This is the kind of thing that would have had the other Unspeakables running over to my desk in elation._

 _Because I don't have to report my findings to anyone I feel like my work will be freer. Without the constant monitoring I will be able to make as many trips as I need to in order to help Severus. He handed me a letter penned in my own hand. It's weird to think that I will be or have written to myself and will or is it have entrusted Severus Snape with the task of ensuring I attain that letter at precisely the right moment in our interwoven timeline. I wonder though what this means? What it means for me and what it means for him._

 _I know that I cannot change specific events and that there are events that only exist the way that they do because of my involvement. Then there are also some events that I must find out for myself what happens. "Spoilers," that's what Severus said when I asked to know too much._

 _I still cannot begin to fathom exactly what this means for me, but I do know one thing I am meant to be a part of Severus Snape's time line and if I must do that as Melody Sands then so be it._

 _-HG_


	2. Ch 2- X

Disclaimer: I own none of this. The original fanfic was posted under the pen name Emilee Genna Svahy however my email for that account no longer is active and I can no longer update the fanfic. Thus I am reposting and will be updating with some regularity as the story is mostly written thanks to NaNoWriMo

 _ **The Sands of Time**_

 _ **Chapter Two**_

 _ **X**_

Hermione cradled the Time Turner in her hands. The golden sand in the center seemed to sparkle as if to tell her it had plans for the day. Her own plans were quickly forming. She needed to figure out how to control the little necklace that had a mind of its on. She needed to find a way to accurately pinpoint what time she was going to. If she could do that then it would be easier to help Severus.

But first she had to determine what exactly caused such an odd issue to present itself. Something in her very meticulous calculations was off, very off, but what?

She had triple checked her Arithmancy the number 191960 kept turning up in her calculations. She also could not explain why the number 521998 kept coming up but at this moment sitting with her Time Turner around her neck her, set her bottomless bag back to a small size, and then placed it in her pocket and she was ready to it down and begin deciphering her Arithmancy.

Minutes ticked by but felt more like hours, hours ticked by but felt more like days no matter what she did how she calculated everything the final number was always the same 191960521998.

At one point she fell asleep with her work strewn over the table and her head resting on a stack of parchment. Hermione couldn't tell you how long she slept for but she awoke to a knock on her door.

Hermione pushed her chair out and headed for the door. The knocking did not continue to come but had stopped completely. She reached the door, looked through the peephole, and seeing no one on the other side slowly opened it. There was nothing on the ground, nothing in her mailbox, but when she reached her door once more she noticed a small green envelope.

Cautiously Hermione plucked the letter from the door and walked back inside inspecting the envelope with care. B the time she reached her desk she could describe the exterior of the letter perfectly silver envelope, black wax seal with a silver ribbon attached, slightly shiny, and small.

However she could not tell you an iota of information regarding the contents of the letter. With a few waves and flicks of her wand Hermione ascertained that the letter was safe for her to open. She took the letter opener out of the drawer, slipped it under the seal, and opened the letter. It fell into her lap open for the world to see and Hermione quickly and quietly read.

 _Hermione,_

 _I know what you're looking for and I know that you're frustrated but trust that you'll figure everything out. You always do._

 _-X_

X? Who was X? And the Time Turner began to click as she sat down on her bed.


	3. Ch 3- A Drink

Disclaimer: I own none of this. The original fanfic was posted under the pen name Emilee Genna Svahy however my email for that account no longer is active and I can no longer update the fanfic. Thus I am reposting and will be updating with some regularity as the story is mostly written thanks to NaNoWriMo

 _ **The Sands of Time**_

 _ **Chapter 3**_

A Drink

Before Hermione could comprehend what was going on she found herself standing in the pouring rain. She had no idea where she was and reaching into her bottomless bag she pulled out a small black umbrella which just covered her.

Her sandals were clearly a bad choice for this weather. Well, on the bright side she deduced that Severus should appear at any moment to tell her where and when she was. Hermione was glancing up and down the street when she finally spotted a tall cloaked figure stepping out of the darkened building.

The figure came closer to Hermione. She couldn't make out a face and from her experience hooded faceless figures were cause to worry. Hermione attempted to back away but only succeeded in backing directly up into a cold wet stone wall.

"Miss Sands, why is it that you seem to be unsure of your surroundings each time you appear? It is June 30th, 1991 you are on Spinner's End and it is 7:37 at night. Oh and it's raining… your words exactly, "Severus said silkily as he approached Hermione. He brought down his hood and Hermione realized that he was exactly as she remembered very first time she saw him at Hogwarts.

Perhaps it was because she was no longer eleven or perhaps because he did not see her as a student but Hermione felt at ease with the Severus Snape that would soon know her as the annoying bushy haired know it all best friend of Harry Potter.

"Come on , Mel, we have much to catch up on," Severus said as he extended his arm to her which she readily took.

How have you been, Severus? How was the past year?"

"Mel, you know as well as I do what is going to happen come September 1st of this year. Let us not dance around the issue," Severus said, not missing a beat as they walked quickly back to his darkened home.

Hermione didn't know how to respond. Could he possibly know that in just a few short months she would be arriving at Hogwarts? Could he know who she was? After all he is Severus Snape and him knowing her true identity would always be a very real possibility.

"Sorry, Severus, but you lost me. I haven't a clue what you're referring to," Hermione replied hoping what she said would be enough for him to believe her.

"You know as well as I do that come next month Lily's son will be eleven. Come September he will be at Hogwarts and I will be forced to look into Lily's eyes for the next seven years," by the time Severus got all of this out they had made it to his front door and he was quickly moving to let Hermione pass.

Harry of course he meant Harry. He couldn't have known about her. Thank Merlin.

"Oh Severus, something tells me you'll muddle through it. You always do," Hermione said as she took in her surroundings.

"Of course you would say something like that, Melody. After all you have already lived through it. Your past is my current reality. You'd be what? Eleven now?" Severus asked as Hermione continued to glance about.

"Nearly twelve," she replied absently.

"Then you're at Hogwarts now?"

Hermione whipped around taking her attention away from the books she had begun to examine the spines of and bestowing all of it to Severus, "Spoilers, Severus, spoilers."

"Of course," Severus replied with a small smile.

"You look good when you smile, Severus, far less severe," Hermione commented as she turned and continued to explore.

"Thank you," Severus mumbled. "The study is through the doors on the right."

And with those words Hermione and Severus walk quietly into the cluttered study. Hermione was amazed. There were piles upon piles of papers with notes meticulously written in Severus's careful hand. The walls were lined with shelves of books that Hermione could easily get lost in. The room was dimly lit with a fireplace and a few well-placed candles, it was perfect.

"Something to drink, Melody?" Severus asked as he passed to the small table of drinks and glasses.

"Not sure if I have time for a drink tonight, Severus."

"You do," he replied with a definitive certainty.

"How are you so… the journal?" Severus nodded his response. "I see, then yes. Why not…"

"What will you have," Severus asked.

"Surprise me."

"A Cabernet it is then."

He knew her preferred drink but this was only the second time she visited him in her timeline. How many drinks have they shared she wondered. He placed the glass in her hand and they both sat down. Hermione took a spot on the sofa and Severus took a seat in a dark wing backed chair. They both sipped quietly. He looked into her eyes and she was left speechless as if by merely sitting down she had been stupefied.

She wanted to tell him everything. She wanted to blurt out all she knew about Quirrell, all she knew about the Sorcerer's Stone she wanted to help him but she knew she could only say so much.

"How am I to keep my promise to Albus? How when I will have to look into the eyes of my best friend and yet see the face of my childhood tormentor," his eyes were distant anxiety present in them that Hermione had never seen.

"You'll get through it. I've seen you get through it. Of course not without copious amounts of sarcastic and caustic comments but you will manage. There will be a time this year, you won't catch Harry but it will be close. Harry is going to sneak out of bed and go to the Restricted Section. Filch will nearly catch him then you will nearly run into him. Then in his second year you will get so close to expelling him you can taste it. Minerva will get in the way of that with Albus' help but you will take great satisfaction in being the one to deal the first hand of punishment," Hermione moved closer to Severus and took his free hand in hers, "You'll make it through, Severus."

"Sounds like the boy behaves rather like his foolish father did," Severus mumbled.

"That's what everyone told him."

Severus studied her for a while. He looked in her brown eyes which were full of sincerity and knowledge and he wondered for a moment if she knew all this because she was somehow involved in the present as another person. Not as Melody Sands, the ageless women whose sporadic visits warranted him dropping everything he had to do that day just to spend a few moments with her, but as someone else entirely.

"How do you know all these details. Mel?"

"Spoilers, but I assure you you'll find out soon enough," Hermione replied pulling her hand back into her own lap. She looked into her glass and then raising the glass to her lips swallowed the last few drops of wine.

"You know too much for your own good, Miss Sands," Severus commented.

"So I've been told, oddly enough by you," Hermione replied placing the glass on the mahogany end table. She sank into her spot on the couch but as she did this the study began to spin and she felt as though she were being pulled in every direction the couch gave way and she landed in the middle of her bedroom.

When Severus said she had enough time for a drink he had literally meant only one drink. Hermione sighed inwardly and went to jot some notes in the leather bound journal.


	4. Ch 4-Unrequited

Disclaimer: I own none of this. The original fanfic was posted under the pen name Emilee Genna Svahy however my email for that account no longer is active and I can no longer update the fanfic. Thus I am reposting and will be updating with some regularity as the story is mostly written thanks to NaNoWriMo

 _ **The Sands of Time**_

 _ **Chapter 4**_

 _ **Unrequited**_

Hermione felt that no matter how many times she used her new time turner she would never get used to the uneasiness she experienced upon landing. Occupational hazard more or less. Hermione squeezed her eyes tightly shut before opening them slowly.

"MELODY!" shouted a lanky boy who came running towards her from a decrepit looking building. "I didn't think you were coming until later. I really should begin trusting you and your journal. I mean why wouldn't I trust you?" Severus rambled as he ran towards her. Taking one long look at her he let out a little laugh then said, "You really don't look good. You look like you're about to be sick."

Hermione glared back at him, "Why thank you for your opinion, Severus. As a matter of fact I do believe I may be ill."

Severus chuckled a little, "How many times have you visited me?"

"This… this would be the third time."

"Oh… well it's August 7th 1975. You know I'm getting ready to enter my fourth year, Melody!"

Fourth year… fourth year… no Severus would still be alright that year nothing would change for him at least nothing that Hermione could think of.

"So, Severus, where exactly are we on this lovely day?" Hermione asked as she looked at the awkward boy in front of her.

"Oh yeah we're on Spinner's End I uh live here," Severus replied looking down at his feet rather ashamed of what he himself saw. Clearly he was uncomfortable with where he came from it didn't take a genius to see that about the poor boy.

Hermione smiled at Severus and reached into her bag. She pulled out a chocolate frog and tossed it to him. He caught it and put the parcel in his pocket mumbling something about saving it for latter.

"Tell me, Severus, what's happening in your life? Anything you care to share with me?" Hermione asked as she began to walk down the alley, Severus not far behind her.

There was a palpable silence for a moment before Severus even thought to reply. "Home is… home I guess. Nothing's really different from what it has always been. Dull, yet hostile. It's, Mel, I can't wait to leave."

Hermione turned and looked at Severus, and she realized that when she first saw him she had not truly looked at him. His pale skin was if possible even paler than she was used to seeing it. He had a sad sunken look about him and he was thinner than she thought could have possibly been healthy for a fourteen year old.

"Come, Severus, let's talk. Where would be a good place? You know this area far better than I do," Hermione had crossed and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

He did not move to shake her from him but rather grabbed her hand and walked her through a maze of decrepit streets until finally they came upon a park. Severus let Hermite's hand go and walked towards a large gnarled willow tree that he sat under. The leaves hid him well and Hermione joined him against the trunk.

Summer was more than halfway through and on this particularly stifling day there was hardly a soul in the park. They walked in an uncomfortable silence. Severus led them up a hill to a sad looking weeping willow. She followed him through the long vines of the tree. Severus sat and motioned for her to sit beside him which she did.

"Lily won't talk to me, Mel. I don't know what I did. She's angry all the time and moody and I just… I just don't know what to do." Severus was busy studying his hands and

Hermione smiled a little and put a reassuring hand on his back, "She's a teenage girl, Severus. Odds are you did nothing wrong. It's just difficult to be a teenager. You also have to remember that her sister is not exactly the easiest person to get along with. Petunia is going to be making Lily's life rather difficult to deal with. It's just a fact of her life and as a friend you need to be cognizant of that fact. She will appreciate that more than you could possibly know." She offered him a sad sort of knowing smile and he shrugged.

"I guess you're right. You usually are."

"Trust me I'm right about this one."

Severus got up and began to walk around their little hideaway. He seemed older than fourteen. Too much was happening to him. Any teenager in the Wizarding world would see what was happening. Voldemort was surely beginning to gain real power and no doubt Severus was beginning to feel the pressure from the older Slytherins. Lucius Malfoy would have begun recruiting for Voldemort and if it weren't for Severus's age he would probably be a large target for anyone of Voldemort's followers. Severus was by no means an idiot or as his latter self would so eloquently put it a dunderhead.

As he paced he spoke, "It would just be far easier to know what to do if I knew what she expected of me. If I knew what would happen if I were to approach her. If I were to tell her how I feel. I cannot help but wonder and, Mel," he stopped pacing and looked at her directly in the eyes, "you could tell me what to do. You know what happens. You know everything and you're the only person I could ever think of turning to in regards to Lily. Please, Mel…" his eyes were pleading far better than his words were ever capable of doing.

"Spoilers, Severus. You know I can't tell you things like that. All I can tell you is that everything will work out the way they are supposed to. If Lily chooses to follow her own path let her. If you don't she will only resent you. Severus you have to let her do what she feels she must do. That's the very best advice I can possibly give you and even that may have been too much," Hermione smiled as the boy continued to pace.

Severus slowed his pacing until he stopped completely. He shrugged in his defeat, presumably not wishing to ask her any more questions regarding Lily, and sat down next to his friend. Hermione was going through her bag in hopes to find something anything that might take Severus's mind off of Lily when her hand grazed over a small, old book which she grabbed with a small smile on her face.

Hermione turned to Severus with the book in her hand. "I have something for you. Something for you to keep think of it as a very belated birthday present," Hermione said as she handed him the old copy of A Tale of Two Cities.

"A muggle book?" Severus asked as he turned it over in his hands to examine every minute detail of its cover. "A very old muggle book…" He opened the book and looked at the publication information, "Mel, this book hasn't been printed yet. Look," he said as he shoved the book in her face, "It says that this particular copy will not be printed for another seven years. You gave me a gift from the future."

"I gave you a book that has been in publication for decades. You'll like it too," Hermione said hoping that the present would lead to a quiet Severus.

"Exactly what does this book have to do with me? I can hardly see how some muggle fiction could have any value to me, Mel."

Hermione thought for a moment. How indeed did the book deal with him? Did it even? The only way it could even possibly pertain to him on any level was the unrequited love. She couldn't tell him that though that would be just as good as telling him to give up on love entirely.

"Someday I promise it will make sense. I just… I can't tell you exactly how right now."

"Let me guess, Mel, spoilers," Severus interjected holding the book close to his face and examining the back cover.

She didn't have to answer him. He knew her better than she knew him after all.


	5. Ch 5-Sands

Disclaimer: I own none of this. The original fanfic was posted under the pen name Emilee Genna Svahy however my email for that account no longer is active and I can no longer update the fanfic. Thus I am reposting and will be updating with some regularity as the story is mostly written thanks to NaNoWriMo

 _ **The Sands of Time**_

 _ **Chapter 5**_

 _ **Sands**_

The warm summer sun washed over Hermione as she sat on the lawn near the lake at Hogwarts. It was only early summer and the sun had not yet gained its full strength but nonetheless Hermione soaked in every ray that came her way.

A rather disgruntled and disheveled Severus Snape threw himself down on the ground beside her. As he shoved his school robes off he mumbled an apology, "Friday June 15th, 1978 at 4:17 in the afternoon. Sorry I'm late, Mel."

"Are you? I find it hard to believe that you are hardly a second late after all you are Severus Tobias Snape and for that reason do you not have a certain proclivity for punctuality?" Hermione did not glance at Severus, instead she continued to allow the sun to wash over her face. It was winter back home and she did miss the summer sun. "And you're not late. I'm going to write 4:18 in the afternoon and you will therefore be early."

"Can you even do that?"

"We'll see. So Severus, you seem rather preoccupied. Dare I ask what could possibly be irking you so on your second to last day of school?" Hermione opened her eyes and gave the agitated teenager a sidelong glance.

Severus had his sleeves rolled up but kept his long pale arms tight to his body effectively blocking Hermione's view of his forearms. She didn't need to ask what he was hiding. She knew what she would find on his left arm and she knew she more than likely had already given him hell for it, but that was a latter Hermione for her and an earlier Melody for him. It was the mark he elected to take that caused him such grief. It caused him to feel such shame at times yet immense pride at other moments. It would be years before the severity of his actions a year ago would sink into him. It would take the greatest loss he could ever endure to even begin to repent for the sins of his mark.

"You don't need to hide that from me, Severus. You now that right?" Hermione said as she motioned to his arm.

Severus relaxed a little but he would never truly relax in front of her not with the mark he now wore under his sleeve. "Mel, I… have you ever been in love with someone you knew you could never have? Someone who for whatever reason the universe has put right in front of you and yet for whatever reason has made damn sure that they are the most unattainable person in your life? Someone who is a constant and yet for some ungodly reason is never there when you need them the most?"

Hermione took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she looked away from Severus, "Lily?" she asked.

There was silence that passed uncomfortably between them until Severus finally answered, "No. Not Lily."

They sat there in their uncomfortable silence. If not Lily then who could he possibly be talking about? Hermione did not dwell on this thought she had more pressing matters to discuss.

"Severus, you will find that in the next few years life may seem a little more complicated than need be. You are going to be facing forces that no one in our history has yet to face. I know you will be fine and you must know that as well. Forget about this object of your affection and know that at the end of this road your life is going to get a little better."

Severus laid back in the grass. "You don't get it, Mel. I'm in love with my best friend. She doesn't even know I exist. I'm just some small moment of her life and she's always on my mind. Sometimes I wonder if she even truly notices me."

Hermione looked at the sad eighteen year old. For a boy he was already too aware of the cruelties of the world. "Severus you have to let this person know how you feel. It will hurt you more to not let her know."

He sat up and looked at her for a little, studying her as if she were some foreign object that must be tested. "Every single time I think I want to tell her she slips away. There is literally never the right moment to talk to her about this. She's like sand in an hourglass eventually whether you want the time to pass or not it does and then she's gone."

Hermione sat there staring out across the lake. The sky as beautiful as it had been so many times before for her. Memories of her school days danced in her own head. Memories of feeling precisely as Severus was now feeling. Ron had been the very friend for her that kept slipping away until he was gone forever. Severus still had a chance and Hermione knew this. If he had somehow moved past Lily then he had a chance at happiness with another. There was no slipping away of the sand. She looked back at him and smiled a little.

"The thing about sand in an hourglass is that it's never truly gone is it? It remains there waiting to be turned over once more. I think you're going to eventually find the right moment to tell her and when you do everything will come together," Hermione smiled and gave him a playful punch to the arm. He smiled sadly back and for a moment Hermione wondered if she could be the sand, but as quickly as the thought crossed her mind it was replaced by the realization that she was slipping away back to the cold of the present.


	6. Ch 6- Reality Check

Disclaimer: I own none of this. The original fanfic was posted under the pen name Emilee Genna Svahy however my email for that account no longer is active and I can no longer update the fanfic. Thus I am reposting and will be updating with some regularity as the story is mostly written thanks to NaNoWriMo

 _ **The Sands of Time**_

 _ **Chapter 6**_

 _ **Reality Check**_

As Hermione sat at her desk she decided the sand that Severus referred to could not possibly be her. She decided that whatever it was he was going through at eighteen she would have no part in. No, the sand had to be Lily no matter what Severus might tell her. Without Lily's influence in his life there would be no telling what the Wizarding world would look like at present.

Would Harry have been spared completely on that fateful Halloween? Would it have been Neville instead? Would Harry have trusted Severus in those final moments of the final battle? Would Lily's son have even survived his first Quidditch match? There would be no telling how altered time could be if Lily was not the object of Severus Snape's unrequited affections.

There was only one real way to tell. Hermione reached across her desk and picked up her phone. Not many of her friends had phones of their own but Harry and Ginny did and for that reason Hermione kept hers even though she could have lived without the bills. She rang Harry up and waited for someone to answer.

"Hello, Hermione," it was Ginny's voice that came over the phone.

"How did you know it was me, Gin?" Hermione asked genuinely curious as to how Ginny knew it was her before she even said a word.

Ginny laughed a little, "You're the only one that phones us the muggle way. Honestly I'm thinking about getting rid of this ruddy phone completely. Can't we just use the floo network?"

"Ginny, I do love talking to you but I actually phoned to talk to Harry," Hermione got through.

Ginny paused, "Eh yeah no problem. Let me just get him for you."

"Thanks, Gin."

Hermione waited. If things had changed from what they should have been Hermione knew it would be all her fault. But she realized she had just talked to Ginny and that alone was a good sign. Right? Of course she was right. If Ginny and Harry were together at least some things had not changed. Harry survived his first Quidditch match at least. Well that was a good sign.

"Hermione?" it was Harry this time. He sounded the same as Hermione

"Hey, Harry. I know I might sound like a complete nutter but… Snape died. I mean he's really gone right?" Hermione asked knowing just how insane she must sound.

"Of course he's dead, Hermione. You saw what happened in the Shrieking Shack. You saw all the blood after Nagini bit him. Why are you asking?"

"I just… I had some odd feeling like he was here the other day. It's crazy. I know. Anyway… thanks, Harry."

"Hermione, are you okay? This isn't like you."

Hermione smiled to herself, "Yeah, Harry, I'm fine. I'll talk to you soon."

"You should come by for dinner sometime. We don't get to see you often enough and Gin and I are worried you're alone far too much." Concern was evident in Harry's voice.

Hermione sighed half annoyed at the concern. "I'll see what I can do. Bye, Harry."

"G'bye, 'Mione."


	7. Ch 7- Early Presents

Disclaimer: I own none of this. The original fanfic was posted under the pen name Emilee Genna Svahy however my email for that account no longer is active and I can no longer update the fanfic. Thus I am reposting and will be updating with some regularity as the story is mostly written thanks to NaNoWriMo

 _ **The Sands of Time**_

 **Chapter 7**

 **Early Presents**

 ****Hermione sat at her desk with her notebook open and ideas dancing about as to how precisely her Time Turner was capable of all it was doing. She hypothesized that an apparation charm was connected to her Time Turner allowing her to travel not just time but space as well in order to switch her location. Something in her careful arithmancy was off, very off but what? As she sat pondering this she began to feel that strange pull just behind her navel and as quickly as she could she reached out to grab her bag before she could be whisked off to some unforeseen time and place.

The room fell away from her and she found herself being pulled every which way until she landed solidly upon the ground. The air was cold and the smell that only exists just before it is going to snow filled the air, making Hermione smile at the memories it evoked. Slowly she began to take in her surroundings and she soon realized that she was in Hogsmeade just before Christmas. A boy in a cloak with a Gryffindor scarf and tousled black hair ran past her bumping her arm as he ran towards The Three Broomsticks.

"Sorry 'bout that!" he called over his shoulder as he ran into the establishment.

Astonished, Hermione realized that the young man that just ran past her bore a striking resemblance to Harry and then it dawned upon her that the boy in question must have been Harry's father James. He was so young and carefree. This boy had no idea what awaited him in his adult years. His few short adult years.

As Hermione continued to think on this she felt the air get cooler around her as people left the streets to head for the warmth of the tavern. She was only brought out of her thoughts when she felt a light tapping on her shoulder and she turned to see a young long haired pale boy with a nose he was still very clearly growing into.

"Severus! You startled me… you should be more careful than to sneak up on people who are in thought," Hermione scolded halfheartedly.

"Sorry, Mel… it's December 15th 1976 at…" he looked down at his watch for a moment, "5:37 in the evening and your entry said it was snowing… but it is not," Severus added the last bit under his breath as a small wry smile tugged at the corner of his lips threatening to bring forth an ever so rare genuine glimpse at his softer side.

Hermione smiled before saying, "It does smell like it will snow. I'm certain it will. Come, let's go inside and get us something warm on this frigid day, shall we? My treat."

Without waiting for him Hermione made her way into The Three Broomsticks and found a booth far enough away from the major hoards of Hogwarts students escaping the cold on their weekend excursion. She slid into the booth and Severus slid in across from her. For a while they sat in silence, neither were willing to break it as they both found a good bit of comfort in being able to sit in thought without being disturbed by the often idle chatter that was involved in polite conversation.

"Well, Severus, it's your sixth year then I take it?"

Severus just nodded his response.

"I do hope that yours is not nearly as intense as I remember mine being. It was absolutely a turning point for me. Which reminds me someone has a birthday coming up not to mention Christmas will soon be upon you," Hermione did not dare to take her eyes off of Severus not even for a second knowing that if she broke the eye contact it would be an uphill battle to get it back from the stubborn sixteen year old across from her.

Severus just nodded his response to her seemingly unwilling to communicate verbally.

Hermione began to rummage through her bag until her hand grazed a pile of books. She slowly reached out as blind as ever and grabbed for what she hoped to be the correct book upon the shelf. What she produced, whether by luck of the draw or rote memorization of the way her books were kept organized in her bag, happened to be exactly the book she had been looking for. The beautifully leather bound red and black copy of The Picture of Dorian Grey instantly, and admittedly obviously, caught the eye of its recipient. Hermione reached across the table and handed the old Penny Dreadful to its new owner.

Severus, on his part, took his time. He held this beautiful novel in the palm of his hands. It was as if he was testing the weight in one hand and then the other before he opened it and began to examine the many pristine pages that it held. It had the smell so many new books have, the smell of fresh ink covered paper and leather. Hermione smiled and wondered where he got such an odd idiosyncrasy from.

"Do you like it? I thought you might enjoy reading something a bit more macabre than the usual novels one would pick for a person your age, and I do apologize that I must give you this present so early as I don't know whether or not I will see you before your seventeenth birthday."

Not looking up at her, Severus responded to her, "It's a lovely thoughtful gift, Mel. Thank you."

Hermione studied the sullen boy for a while. He seemed more turned in on himself than usual and that was truly saying something. Whatever happiness he could pretend to have from time to time seemed to be completely gone from him. His sixth year… what ever happened in his sixth year she could not for the life of her recall at that moment and yet she knew that if she prodded him it would not likely end well.

Their mulled ciders arrived and they quietly began to drink them. This was the least conversational that Hermione could recall Severus Snape ever being whether it was during the last few times she saw him or over the many years of sitting in his Potions class listening intently to his lecture and diligently working to make the perfect specimen of whatever potion they were making that day. This young Severus Snape, who was admittedly at what could very well be one of if not the most awkward stage of life was like a brick wall one could not anticipate extracting any information from whatsoever.

Becoming rather fed up with the silence Hermione cleared her throat, "Severus, I do not know how long I will have here with you today. As such I do wish to emphasize the very real need for me to be able to help you in whatever capacity I can while I am here. Silence will get us nowhere and I can no longer sit here as time slips by like sand in an hourglass while I wait for you to open up to me."

It was the harshest she had ever been with another person. Ever. The dark haired boy looked up at her. He was clearly taken aback by what she had just said and she could not blame him. Her words did after all bite as they flew from her lips. Hermione gave him a slightly apologetic look, hoping that her apparent perturbed state over what she said would increase his sympathy towards her.

He sighed and then finally opened his thin mouth to speak, "I hate being here. I hate being at Hogwarts now. I have no one here like I used to. The only person I can count on to truly have my back is you but that is only on the days in which you happen to grace me with your presence. I used to have Lily… she won't speak to me any more. She says that the more that I am around the Malfoy boy and the Blacks the more I become one of the self obsessed Slytherins who hate all others because all others for whatever reason have chosen not to be a member of the greatest group of nonconformists that Hogwarts has seen in years."

"Wait all of this is over Lily Evans?" Hermione was shocked. she was positively shocked that it would take so long for him to say something… anything. "I know, Severus, that Lily means a lot to you. Perhaps more than you will ever let yourself admit out loud, openly."

He looked back at her. His face spoke the sadness in what he had just admitted to her but she knew that nothing could ever be said to anyone else. Severus looked into his cider as Hermione slowly sipped hers. Silence fell on them once more and they sat comfortably knowing that the person across from them was the only one who could be trusted with many of their secrets.

"Have you considered apologizing to Lily for whatever it is that she believes you may have done? Perhaps she will be willing to forgive and forget. I understand her to be a rather forgiving and agreeable young woman. Severus, life is too short, far too short for us to continue to hold onto the grudges that we keep. You should try to talk to her. You should make an effort to repair this friendship. Best friends are difficult to come by and once you loose one gods know it is difficult to get them back," Hermione told him hoping that her words would somehow make a difference. She knew that the relationship between Severus and Lily suffered at some point in his sixth year she just was unaware that it happened so early in the term.

Severus shrugged. "I don't really need Lily in my life. If she doesn't want to be my friend then please tell me why should I make all the effort to be her friend? Why should I be the only one who admits to any wrongs? Why does her damnable Gryffindor pride have to win out? How is any of that just, Mel?"

Hermione sank into her booth a little and bit her lower lip. "I see your point, Sev. But you must think on how you may live to regret throwing away a friendship that you have had since your childhood. Life is bitterly short, my friend. Bitterly short."

"We're sixteen, Mel. We have an eternity ahead of us."

The tugging began to build again in Hermione's stomach and she felt herself begin to slip away back to the present as she thought, 'If only that were true...' to herself.


	8. Ch 8- Numbers and Tea

Disclaimer: I own none of this. The original fanfic was posted under the pen name Emilee Genna Svahy however my email for that account no longer is active and I can no longer update the fanfic. Thus I am reposting and will be updating with some regularity as the story is mostly written thanks to NaNoWriMo

 _ **The Sands of Time**_

 _ **Chapter 8**_

 _ **Numbers and Tea**_

Hermione sat on her bed with her notebooks surrounding her. Every calculation she had ever done on her Time Turner lay on the bed in chronological order. Every note she had ever made in an Arithmancy course sat in a pile in front of her. Every scribble upon a piece of parchment had been combed over and analyzed to a point where no one would ever be able to extract new information that Hermione had not considered before.

Something was missing. Something had to be missing. She was neglecting one thread of the tapestry that made up this delicate Time Turner that she held in the palm of her hand. Hermione swung her legs over the side of her bed and moved to the desk where her notebook she was chronicling her trips for Severus in. Was there a link between each visit? Was that what she was missing?

She stared out of her window and onto the quiet darkened street. The light of the street lamps and the occasional passing car was all Hermione had to light the road before her flat, and she was contented in the fact that life on her street, for most at least, seemed to be a pleasant albeit a boring routine existence. Stretching, Hermione proceeded to rub her shoulders before turning to the hallway and making her way into the kitchen to make herself a spot of tea. If she was going to be awake she was going to do that caffeinated.

Her dark green kettle already sat upon the stove ready for her to turn the heat on beneath it and begin her tea. With a wave of her hand the stove was turned on and another wave brought a cup out from the cupboard above the sink. She sighed as her tea made itself. Was there really a point in attempting to discern the causation behind this very specific time travel? Was there a reason for her to work so hard at calculations that ultimately would have no bearing on her interactions with Severus Snape? Presently, there seemed to be no real reason for her to continue to work at calculations that did nothing but cause a migraine for her. However, Hermione knew that the woman who wrote the letter to herself, that version of Hermione Jean Granger cared very much about whether or not the calculations regarding the Time Turner , the very calculations that she presently was attempting to decipher, could be completed in a timely enough fashion that she could have some amount of dictation as to when and where she traveled to.

As the tea came to a boil Hermione flicked her palm upwards summoning a towel and then proceeded to manually turn the stove top off and finish making herself a cup of honey jasmine tea. Hermione stirred her tea as she added in a little sugar and then went to her bread box and took out a small package of biscuits which she warmed and placed upon a small black and white dish. When she was finally content with her tea and biscuits she took them over to the kitchen table, sat down in one of two chestnut chairs and began to sip her beverage.

The Time Turner laid upon the table in front of Hermione. Its gold hoops sat evenly upon the wood beneath it. The chain was placed neatly upon the table as if meant for display. Hermione ran her finger along the gold chain and then the hoops, and then finally along the delicate hourglass in its center. What magic had she performed when she created it? Had she been concentrating on Severus Snape for some unknown reason? Or was it just that their stories had to meet in this bizarre fashion in order for events that were crucial to history as they knew it to play out? Did Severus need her as much as she now felt she needed him? Were they so intimately linked that she knew precisely what he needed to hear at any given point in his young life? Or was it simply that there had never been two people more alike in dignity and sentiment than the two of them and therefore they had to somehow help each other out?

What ever the reason for their joined time lines Hermione was determined to calculate and recalculate until she had the answer that she was looking for.


	9. Ch 9- Birthdays

Disclaimer: I own none of this. The original fanfic was posted under the pen name Emilee Genna Svahy however my email for that account no longer is active and I can no longer update the fanfic. Thus I am reposting and will be updating with some regularity as the story is mostly written thanks to NaNoWriMo

 _ **The Sands of Time**_

 _ **Chapter 9**_

 _ **Birthdays**_

There was a small crackling fire in front of where Hermione sat comfortably in a tall black winged leather chair. It was quiet in this room. Hermione mused for a minute before getting up whether it was the quietest set of rooms in all of Hogwarts. Her Time Turner had taken her to Severus' chambers, but oddly enough the man had yet to arrive. There was no way he knew she was there and so she walked over to a set of shelves and began to examine their titles.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

A History of Magic

Advanced Potion Making

10,000 Potions from Across the Globe

Book of Potions

Book of Spells

A Dark History of Anglican Magic

A Dark History of Magic

Dark Wizards Through History

So many foreboding books upon his shelf and then she saw a small pile of novels sitting upon a table beneath all of the shelves. They looked so entirely out of place that Hermione could not have been more compelled to go and examine them if there was a sign inviting her to take a closer look.

The Picture of Dorian Grey

The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

The Swiss Family Robinson

Sense and Sensibility

Dracula

Wuthering Heights

Pocket Sonnets of William Shakespeare

What was curious about these particular books was not their status as Muggle literature but the fact that their covers seemed to be a bit too of Hermione's time and yet they were worn as if they had been loved for decades not simply for a few years. Gently, Hermione picked up the copy of Dorian Grey and slowly opened the very loved book. She had seen these pages before, read them even. This was her copy of one of her favorite novels and not just a copy but it was her personal copy that she had given Severus as a seventeenth birthday present on her last visit to him. How many years had that been for him when it had only been two weeks for her?

As she studied the pages that she had once peered over she heard the soft creaking of the door and turned to see Severus walk in a seemingly shocked to see her standing there.

"Well, Severus, don't you look surprised to see me," Hermione said with a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

"Well, Mel... that would be because I was just with you... outside the door. If you had walked in here and seen yourself... if you had been in two places at once staring at yourself I shudder to think what could have happened. Time is a delicate thing," Severus replied. "It is September 19th, 1994. Ha-"

"It's my birthday?... I landed on my birthday," Hermione mumbled to herself.

"Yes, you landed upon your birthday for the second time for me today. Happy Birthday, Ms. Sands."

"It's Mel, Severus. Not 'Ms. Sands'. I'm not one of your students," Hermione correcting in a somewhat scolding manner.

"You're still rather new at this aren't you?" Severus asked in a critical tone that seemed to communicate discontent.

All she could do in response was nod before changing the subject, "You still have the book I gave you." She held the book out in front of her still a little shocked that he had kept it after all the years.

"I have kept every novel you have ever given me, Mel. Sometimes they are all I have to remind myself that I am not so utterly alone." He walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a decanter and a glass which he filled with the amber colored liquid he had taken out. From another cabinet he pulled out a Cabernet and poured Hermione a glass.

She took her glass from his outstretched hand, thanked him, and began to sip her wine as she scanned the room before her.

"This would be your fourth year, right?" Severus asked from his spot a few feet away.

"I beg your pardon."

"You, Mel, you're in your fourth year of schooling now, right?"

She turned to look at him. Severus had a look she had come to know as his truly interested almost quizzical look. It was the look he reserved for matters he did not actually know the concrete answer to. It was not a look that was universally known. In fact it was a look that Hermione was convinced was reserved for her and her alone. Why was he so obsessed about where she was in her present life? Was he concerned that he would meet her and ruin her ever wishing travel from her time to see him through so many of life's twists and turns as she had? By now he should know that she was not going to be going anywhere. She would remain a constant if only a sporadic presence in his life.

"Yes I would at this point be in my fourth year if I am at Hogwarts," as close to a straightforward answer as she was willing to give him.

"How many times have you visited me?" Severus asked as he moved a bit closer to her.

"Erm... this would be the sixth for me," she responded after thinking for a moment.

"The Mel that I had just seen had been on her twenty sixth visit to me. So if I do anything that seems to be a bit reproachable please forgive me. I have come to grow used to a Melody who knows me on a more adult level than just a girl who is traveling about listening to me go on about my life and offering me advice that comes from a secure place of foreknowledge." Severus stepped closer again, the distance between them was no longer out of their reach. Now, if they put their hands just slightly in front of themselves they would touch the other.

Hermione looked up into the dark eyes of the man before her. So often had she heard people say that they were as black as a starless night, but as she stood this close to him she could see that there were flecks of green inside the darkest brown she had ever seen. He was looking down at her. For the first time not down his nose in a manner reserved for intimidation but in a soft look that verged on inviting. Hermione moved closer to him. Now, there was only a hair's space between them and she could feel the heat coming from his chest as they stood so close.

It was as if gravity pulled them towards each other for in the next moment she felt his soft lips against her's and his hand tangled in her mess of hair. As they pulled each other closer they could feel themselves relax into their embraces. The world melted away around them allowing them to be all that mattered in that instance. Nothing else existed. The Triwizard Tournament was not an issue Severus had to contend himself with, and Hermione was not concerned about her calculations for the first time in weeks. The world could have gone up in smoke and burnt to the ground and they would not have noticed. For the first time in her life Hermione felt more at peace with a person than she could remember ever feeling before.

Slowly they pulled away from each other just as they realized that they both could no longer breath in the heat of their kiss. Hermione looked up at Severus and for the very first time ever she saw a truly genuine nonthreatening smile on his face. It was soft, kind and warm words she never thought she would use to describe Severus Snape ever.

"Well there's a first time for everything, isn't there?" Hermione said as she allowed a smile to grace her own now blushing face. Who would have ever thought that she would eventually kiss a man she had once lit on fire and then gone on to make a potion out of rare supplies that her friends had stolen from his private stores? Certainly not fourth year Hermione who was at that moment no doubt studying in the Gryffindor Common Room or helping Harry and Ron with essays that they had been determined to leave until the last possible minute.

Severus was still smiling at her. "Happy birthday, Melody," and once more he closed the distance between them taking him into her arms and kissing her softly.

As his lips pressed against her's Hermione felt the pull of time as she slipped away back to 2002 and away from the Severus that knew he could kiss her.


	10. Ch 10- Did That Really Just Happen?

_**Chapter 10**_

 _ **Did That Really Just Happen?**_

Sitting at her kitchen table, her tea still warm in its cup in front of her, Hermione touched her fingers to her lips. Was she dreaming or did everything that she just experienced really happen? Did Severus Tobias Snape, the man who always loved the same woman really just kiss her? Was it possible that she had meddled too much and for too long? Could she have hurt her chances at everything still being as she knew it?

Hermione sat back in her chair her tea clutched in her hands. She bit her bottom lip not knowing what repercussions could show themselves as a result of that kiss. However if he had kissed her then than there could not have been any negative repercussions. Right? Everything had to stay the same. She was still in her flat. Everything was where she had left it. Nothing in the décor had changed. The same pictures hung on the walls, the curtains were the same shade of lilac that they had always been, the flat still smelled of lavender and sage mixed with the aroma of the pot pie she had had that evening for dinner. Nothing had changed.

Nothing.

Still nervous she stood up from her table and walked into her room. With a wave of her hand A History of Magic Third Edition came flying off of a shelf and landed gently upon the desk. With another wave of her hand the book opened to the chapters on the Battle of Hogwarts and she began to read. Determined to discern if there had been any change in the outcome without having to alarm anyone other than herself Hermione scoured the pages thrice before rereading the list of those lost to both sides. When she got to Severus Snape there was a star and a note at the bottom of the page that she did not remember seeing before.

Hermione read out loud, "'Those with this annotation have not been able to be confirmed dead as no remains of any sort were found after the battle.' No. I saw him. I saw him dead. No one lives through that. Severus Snape is not alive."

She had seen him die. She had seen Voldemort order Nagini to attack Severus. To kill Severus. She saw him die there before her in Harry's arms. The memories that he had given Harry had been of Lily, memories that comforted him in his final moments. There was no way at all that Severus Snape was alive and well or at least alive there were too many people who could confirm seeing him die at the Shrieking Shack that night.

Was it a false memory? Could it have been a false memory? Harry remembered those events exactly as she did. They had talked about them after the battle as they tried to get their minds off of Ron. This book that had made so much sense, that she had helped to create now made very little sense to her at all, but she had to admit that she never recalled hearing about anything being done with Severus' body after Voldemort died. In fact she could not recall anyone saying a single word about Severus after he had died other than praise for his self sacrifice. Was it possible that she had chosen to let these memories stay this way because there was too much pain and loss to add a possibly missing war hero to her list of matters to take care of? Or did someone know something she didn't know? Was that even a possibility?

As the questions began to build up within her so did her frustration and Hermione threw her book upon her bed sending parchment flying all about the room. Confusion and frustration were two very real feelings that Hermione was not keen on feeling and both seemed to be rearing their rather ugly heads in her direction in that very moment. She went to her bed and began reorganizing all of her papers in foolish hopes that moving them about may cause something to reveal itself to her.

Having done ample research on all main events that were public knowledge in regards to Severus, Hermione had a large pile of notes at the foot of her bed. An even larger pile of arithmancy notes sat opposite that pile at the head of the bed. Hermione, annoyed and aggravated sat in the middle of the notes with her head cradled in her hands.

Nothing she knew had changed but that kiss made her feel as if everything should have.


	11. Ch 11- Hermione

Disclaimer: I own none of this. The original fanfic was posted under the pen name Emilee Genna Svahy however my email for that account no longer is active and I can no longer update the fanfic. Thus I am reposting and will be updating with some regularity as the story is mostly written thanks to NaNoWriMo

 _ **The Sands of Time**_

 _ **Chapter 11**_

 _ **Hermione**_

The world stopped spinning as Hermione's feet landed upon solid ground. As she took in her surroundings she realized that she had been there before. At the end of a narrow dingy street was the door to Severus Snape's familial home on Spinner's End. Now it was just a matter of figuring out when she was. With her wand tucked up in the sleeve of her coat Hermione made her way to the door of Severus's home.

Before she could even knock on it the door flew open and she stood face to face with a rather frantic looking Severus. He reached out and pulled her into the house without even saying a word.

"Well, hello to you too, Severus. I'm well. The weather in my time is alright but I wish there could be a break in the rain every now and again. We've had Some-"

"It's the twenty seventh of June 1995. You just completed your fourth year, and might I add that I have never been more terrified for you before than when Dumbledore decided that it would be a clever idea to put you in the lake for that idiot Drumstrang boy," Severus seethed.

That last bit hit Hermione like a ton of bricks. Had he really just mentioned that he knew that Dumbledore had put her in the lake for the Triwizard Tournament? He knew she was not just Melody... he knew that she was Hermione. He knew. He knew everything about her deception. At the end of her last visit she was over the moon. Now, she felt as if the world was being ripped out from beneath her feet.

"You... you know who I am?" She let out in a whisper.

He looked at her and his eyes grew wide as he nodded.

"How long have you known bout me?" questions flooded her mind as her world... her disguise fell further away.

"Since the end of your third year. So many of your mannerisms started coming out in you then. The way your eyebrows furrow when you are concentrating on a task whether it be difficult or simply mundane and tedious became something that you do very often around Potter and Weasley," Severus explained as he ceased everything he was rambling on about.

His eyes rested on Hermione and she smiled at him. Even though he knew who she was, that little know it all Gryffindor with a head full of memorized facts and two best friends who would stand by her until the bitter end, he seemed to still look at her with that longing that she had seen for the first time on her last visit. Hermione reached out and touched his hand gently. His eyes darted to where their hands made contact.

"On my last visit it was my birthday. I landed in your chambers at Hogwarts and you told me that you had just left me on the other side of the door. You told me that I had just slipped away and then reappeared a younger version of me inside your rooms. Do you remember those visits?" Hermione stepped a little closer.

"Of course I remember. They were the only ones that you have had back to back. You got to have your birthday three times last year. I have not seen you since then," Severus said closing the gap that was between them before he entwined his hands in her mess of hair and kissed her tenderly. "I've missed you."

Hermione stood there held by the man she was starting to see very differently, the man she was starting to fall for, her head resting on his chest as she listened to his heart beating within. She knew it was wrong to tell him what she knew was going to happen in just a few short years, there was no need to tell him after all he would only berate her on just how unethical it was to divulge foreknowledge to a person no matter what they meant to you. History had to run its course. Events had to pan out the way that they ultimately did for if they did not then Hermione knew that everything could change completely in the blink of an eye. People who live could die if so much as a single person gained knowledge of events to come. Hermione had no desire to change the course of the history that she lived through, the history that she was part of texts books on. She had no desire to cause more pain than already existed in her world and in Severus's future.

As these thoughts ran through her mind she realized that the Severus Snape that held her so closely in that very moment was now facing the very real reality of answering to two masters. Voldemort had returned just days before and he was now living with the biggest unknown target on his back as a double agent. He was not the master of his fate, then again he never really was.

"He's back isn't he?" she whispered into his chest as she held him close to her. The strong aroma of sandalwood filled her nostrils as she breathed in his scent memorizing it as best she could knowing that there would not be many more opportunities to hold him this intimately.

"You know just as well as I do, Hermione, that he's back. He's back and there is nothing we can do. I've known you longer than I have known any other soul and I know that this is useless to ask but I shall ask it any way. Is there any chance for me in this fight? Do I have so much as a hope of surviving?" There was a note of desperation in his voice as Severus asked Hermione about his fate.

Hermione reached up and took Severus's head between her hands. She moved a few hairs off of his face and kissed him gently and as they kissed she prayed that she wouldn't slip away. "Severus, you know that I cannot say anything. You know if I could tell you about what is to come I would."

His hands that had been cradling her face fell away as he looked into her eyes. Slowly he let his eyes wander her face. As he did so she hoped beyond all chance of hope that he would not pry into her thoughts and memories.

"You don't need to tell me. I don't want to know. All I want is to sit in my study with my only friend in silence until she needs to leave me."

Hermione nodded and laced her fingers with his. "I can do that." With that she let him lead her into the book filled study to be held in his arms as they drifted off to sleep not to wake until she was back in her own room feeling the pain of leaving without him even knowing.


	12. Ch 12- Dear Severus

Disclaimer: I own none of this. The original fanfic was posted under the pen name Emilee Genna Svahy however my email for that account no longer is active and I can no longer update the fanfic. Thus I am reposting and will be updating with some regularity as the story is mostly written thanks to NaNoWriMo

 _ **The Sands of Time**_

 **Chapter 12**

 **Dear Severus**

It is a truly jarring moment to wake expecting to be in one place in the arms of a person you care for more than you've ever cared about someone before and then to wake up and find yourself in a completely different place utterly alone. This was the all too unique experience that Hermione was now enduring. Shaking the sleep from her stiff limbs Hermione stood alone in the middle of her bedroom beside her unmade bed. Tears slowly fell from her large brown eyes. She knew she was not going to return to that exact moment, though she foolishly prayed that she would.

Not knowing what else to do she made her way to her desk and took some parchment out to begin to write.

 _Dear Severus,_

 _As I can only assume you have unraveled the enigma that I have so carefully preserved since you first met me. It is of absolute paramount importance that my guise remains untarnished, not a soul can learn of my visits. I could very easily loose my job and be forced to return all projects that I am currently working on and or in possession of that is of course if any of my "peers" grow up to adulthood with any political sway whatsoever._

 _The day I visited you before Harry and I were to begin our first year at Hogwarts I was terrified that you somehow already knew I was about to be your "know-it-all" Gryffindor annoyance. I worried more than I thought I could worry as I sat on your couch sipping my wine. Over this next year you are going to see me change as your student more than I will any other year at Hogwarts. The Triwizard Tournament will be held at Hogwarts for the first time in decades and a lot will transpire. Of course I can't tell you any of that... Spoilers. Please be kind and forgiving. A much younger me an almost fragile version will be the girl sitting in your potions class. She may pride herself in outwardly not giving a damn but she cares, and though she is not yet the woman that will write you this letter she cares very deeply about your opinions and remembers every little thing that you snidely say to her. There will be several instances over the next year that I wish did not ever occur but I know now that these moments had to happen to let me be the person who you have come to know. Be kind to her but try to treat her as you would any student._

 _Follow your instincts when it comes to people and whom to trust and whom to question. So much will change and so much of it will not be for the better. Stay strong and do not allow anything to make you question your convictions. I will still hold you dearly in my heart. Survive this year, I know you will, but survive it for me so that I can return to your time your life and be held in your arms once more._

 _Love,_

 _Hermione_

 _P.s. Please forgive me for lighting your robes on fire during my first year. I was only twelve._

Hermione folded the parchment after waving her wand over it to dry the ink. As quickly as she could she sealed it and scribbled _Do Not Open Until June 1_ _st_ _1994_ and then tucked the letter into her bag to hand to Severus the next time she see him before her third year at Hogwarts.


End file.
